WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
GRAPEVINE SPRINGS
LOCATION
On the Black Ridge located above Ash Creek.About 2 miles east and a little south of Leeds.
S6, T42S, R15W, Salt Lake Meridian
37° ?' ?" North Latitude, 113° ??' ??" West Longitude
3,200 feet (975 meters) MSL
HISTORY
Wild grapes were common around the spring and it was a prominent resting spot along the old trail from Cedar City to St. George.There are still three or four trees and a couple of buildings at Grapevine Springs.
REFERENCES
From the Hall History, about pp. 70 (maybe around 1900):"Pa had a field over in the Horse Valley Wash with an independent ditch. He had property to the west of Rockville. One piece that he owned across the river near Grafton was completely cut away by the river during a flood. His main farming center was at Cranktown, between Rockville and Springdale. Later, he bought rangeland on both sides of the river near Cranktown where he was able to raise as many as 165 head of cattle. We also ran a small herd of sheep in the nearby hills at times. The fields were served by water delivered from the tail-end of the Springdale field irrigation ditch. The chief crops were alfalfa hay, wheat for our family bread supply, beans, corn and sorghum cane. The wheat was carefully stored in a grain bin; it had to last all year. In the fall, two or three fellows would each take a wagonload of wheat to the gristmill in Washington to be ground into flour. One of us boys always went along with Pa. An overnight stop was made at Grape Vine Ranch, owned by Hen Coon. (Grape Vine Springs are about two miles east of Leeds. The road they followed went down over the Johnson Twist, across LaVerkin Creek south and a little east of Toquerville, then west by northwest towards Leeds) Mr. Coon was an artist with the guitar, especially when he was made merry with a few swigs of Dixie wine, a commodity he always had at hand. The road went through a patch of deep soft sand. Mr. Coon laid a bed of straw, brush and chips across the sand and charged a toll for using it. After delivering the wheat, and receiving flour, bran and shorts, the two-day return trip was made. A gristmill in Virgin turned out a dark less-refined product."